- Shareholders protest at FBN headquarters over AGM
BY BAMIDELE FAMOOFO
Investors on the Nigerian equities market on Monday reaped a profit of N75.44 billion from their investment as market capitalisation increased to about N36 trillion.
Opening the week, the local bourse rebounded by 0.21 percent to settle at 65,336.71 points. Investor interest in index heavyweights, MTN Nigeria Plc grew by (+1.08%), BUAFOODS Plc increased by (+0.75%), alongside Zenith Bank Plc (+0.29%) kept the market in the positive territory, offsetting losses in Stanbic IBTC Plc (-1.54%), FBNH (-1.64%) and WAPCO (-0.18%). Consequently, the year-to-date (YTD) return rose to 27.48 percent, while market capitalization gained N75.44 billion to close at N35.56trillion.
Analysis of Monday’s market activities showed trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 35.92 percent. A total of 334.33 million shares valued at N3.89 billion were exchanged in 6,940 deals.
Sterling Bank Plc led the volume chart with 55.14 million units traded while MTN Nigeria Plc N (+1.08%) led the value chart in deals worth N559.39 million.
Market breadth closed negative at 1.06-to-1 ratio with declining issues outnumbering advancing ones.
Cornerstone Insurance Plc (-7.22%) topped eighteen (18) others on the laggard’s log while Wema Bank Plc (+9.77%) led seventeen (17) others on the leader’s table.
Meanwhile, some shareholders of FBN Holdings, on Monday protested at the headquarters of the organization over an attempt to prevent the financial institution from holding its Annual General Meeting as scheduled.
The minority shareholders who gathered in front of the headquarters held placards and demanded that the institution be allowed to carry out its statutory duty of holding AGMs.
Speaking on behalf of the protesting shareholders, the chairman of the Trusted Shareholders’ Association, Mukhtar Mukhtar, expressed displeasure at the attempt to stop the AGM from holding.
He said, “We are here at the First Bank office to register our displeasure, our discontentment, and rejection of the attempt by some shareholders to prevent the Annual General Meeting of First Bank from holding and preventing the consideration of some very important resolutions for the progress of the bank.
“These shareholders have approached the court to stop First Bank from raising capital like other banks are doing and then not to admit some directors onto the board of the bank. Those who have gone to court to stop the AGM know that it is illegal. AGMs are statutory meetings.”
FBN Holdings in a notice issued in July said that it intended to raise fresh capital through a rights issue, pending the approval of shareholders at the Annual General Meeting scheduled for this month.
The lender said it intended to raise funds via the creation of 8.974 billion ordinary shares at 50 kobo each.
The group also announced the appointment of billionaire investor, Femi Otedola, as a non-executive director subject to the approval of its shareholders at the upcoming AGM.
Otedola was appointed on July 9, 2023.
Samson Ariyibi, who was appointed the executive director, Finance, Investment, Management, and oversight of the group on October 21, 2022, will be presented to the shareholders for approval of his appointment.
